


Pride and Promises

by AdmiralTabby



Category: One Piece
Genre: Exploring Relationships, F/M, Romance, eventual crossover with my other one piece fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 21:25:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10544582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdmiralTabby/pseuds/AdmiralTabby
Summary: Brook sees something interesting on Thriller Bark. Robin is observant in general. And Zoro and Nami are as stubborn as ever. I wrote this mainly to explore potential feelings between Zoro & Nami. I'm trying to keep it as canon as possible so updates might be few and far between as I watch/read One Piece and come up with scenes I can read into for writing purposes. Enjoy what I have so far. I do plan on having Law show up from my other fic, so things might be mentioned in the future that are referencing my other story.Story starts right after Thriller Bark, and continues into events after the time skip.Transplanted from my FanFiction account





	1. Chapter 1

Robin sat in the crows nest, as it was her night to watch. She sat snuggled into one of the benches with a blanket and a cup of tea. It was a peaceful night, and the archeologist was enjoying the stillness on the usually noisy Sunny. She was sipping from her cup when a familiar afro poked it's way up into the room.

"Yohohohohohoho~" she could hear Brook humming to himself. The skeleton came the rest of the way into the room and paused when he noticed her.

"Oh hello there.." he greeted. Robin waited for the musician to finish, an amused look on her face. "...Might I see your panties?" he inevitably asked. Robin smirked.

"No, but you can have some tea," she said, nodding towards a teapot near her. Brook made his way over to it and poured himself a cup.

"So what brings you up here? It's not your watch," Robin asked. Brook slurped his tea.

"It's just such a beautiful night, I couldn't bring myself to sleep just yet," he said, "so I decided to see who was up here and strike up some conversation." Robin set down her teacup.

"I hope you're adjusting to life on the Sunny well enough," she said. They had only been sailing for a few days since leaving Thriller Bark behind.

"Frankly finished my room so I'm quite comfortable," Brook told her.

"And now that a few days have passed, what do you make of everyone?" Robin inquired, always curious to what was on the crew's mind. If Brook had not of been skinless, he would have quirked a brow at the archeologist. After sipping his tea again, he sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"Everyone is just so wonderful..." he mused, before glancing back up at her. "Although I doubt that's the thing you hope to hear from me." Robin smiled softly and shrugged her shoulders. Brook chuckled and brought a hand to his chin in thought.

"Well if you just want my basic observations...here you go. Chopper is the youngest, by far. And I believe it was brought up at some point that he was born a reindeer," he started. Robin nodded.

"You are correct. He ate the human-human fruit," she confirmed. Brook thought some more. "I've noticed that cooking is the only thing that Sanji takes more seriously than women. And Usopp is quite clever when it comes to tinkering. I can tell he looks up to Franky quite a bit."

"He does, but he would never admit it," she agreed with him.

"As for Franky, he seems like he's everyone's lovable big brother," Brook stated. Robin laughed at this.

"I think he considers himself that as well actually," she said. Brook sipped his tea again before continuing.

"And seem like you know everything that is going on this ship," he said carefully, glancing at the raven-haired woman.

"Why ever would you say that Brook?" she asked, resting her cheek in her hand and looking amused.

"I've noticed an eye or ear in the wall on occasion," the skeleton admitted. Robin laughed at this.

"Well, I won't deny it. I only use my powers when I feel it is necessary. But tell me, you left Zoro and Nami out."

"I was getting to them," Brook said, finishing his tea, "but I do believe that our resident swordsman and navigator are romantically involved." Robin blinked.

"What?" she asked, not sure if she had heard the skeleton correctly. "What gave you this idea?" "Back on Thriller Bark, I witnessed everything that transpired after Bartholomew Kuma released his compressed air bomb," Brook said, placing his teacup back on the table.

"So you know about what happened to Zoro then," Robin asked. Brook nodded, confirming her question.

"It was very interesting to witness.." Brook started, remembering the scene...

0~0~0

Brook groaned as he came to. He was positive he had a few new fractures in his already banged up bones. The dust was still settling from Kuma's blast, and there was even more debris than before. Brook risked a glance up. Everyone appeared to be out cold, and Kuma was still standing. The massive paw-paw man started to walk in their direction, so Brook quickly played dead until the man had passed by. Kuma seemed to be going towards Luffy, and Brook could only manage to move his head to watch. He must have hurt himself more than he initially thought. His attention was drawn away from Kuma and Luffy however, when he saw a flash of green out of the corner of his vision.

Brook glanced back in the opposite direction to see the swordsman, Zoro, kneeling over Nami's prone form. They weren't that far from the poor skeleton, so he couldn't help but overhear.

"I know you can't hear me right now, but I'm sorry. This might be goodbye.." Zoro said softly, leaning down to press his lips lightly on her forehead. Brook couldn't help but feel he wasn't supposed to have seen this exchange, so he continued to play dead even as Zoro stood and rushed back towards Kuma.

0~0~0

"...and of course, Kuma then dropped Luffy, Sanji came to and was knocked out again, and Zoro ended up taking on Luffy's suffering," Brook concluded. Robin leaned back in her seat, looking thoughtful.

"This is very interesting..but I don't think they are actually in a relationship yet," she said.

"Oh?" Brook's interest was piqued.

"I've been with the crew for a while now...and like you said, I notice things. Our swordsman and navigator most certainly have some built up tension. However, any feelings they might have towards the other have yet to be realized. They're both incredibly stubborn people," she told the musician.

"It seems Zoro might have realized them, it seems," Brook thought aloud.

"Perhaps. He also wasn't sure he was going to make it out of the battle alive. Humans do rash things when faced with death," Robin said, her eyes darkening in memory of her own experiences. She blinked and shook her head to clear her mind, focusing her gaze back on the skeleton.

"Don't bring this up to any one else, I'm going to do some research of my own on the matter," she told him. If a skeleton could smirk, Brook was.

"Are you planning on playing matchmaker, Robin?" he asked. Robin simply grinned.

0~0~0

"Go ahead and relax everyone. It's going to be another day without wind," Nami announced to the crew. The others immediately split off to work on various projects. Luffy and Usopp perched on the railing to fish while Chopper headed towards his office. Sanji was disappearing into the kitchen as was Franky into his workshop. Robin was picking up a book to read while sitting next to her flowers, and Brook had completely vanished. The sound of violin music wafting across the deck betrayed his position to be up on one of the masts. Nami decided she would work on her maps for awhile before soaking up some sun. She passed by Zoro appeared to be meditating on the lawn. She opened her mouth to say something to him, only to close it and continue on towards the library.

0~0~0

Zoro cracked an eye open as she passed by. He could tell something had been bothering the navigator for a few days, but she didn't seem to be doing anything about it. Once she had disappeared into the library, Zoro released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He grit his teeth and scrunched his eyes closed in frustration. His emotions were all sorts of jumbled. Between the immense pain he had taken on, his already extensive injuries, and now this Nami business, he couldn't focus at all.

Zoro slowed his breathing and allowed himself to clear his head and reflect on everything that had happened, both recently and more in the past. Luffy had vowed to Genzo to never take her smile away. Zoro had also silently taken the vow. He saw it as since it was his captain's vow, it was his duty as first mate to also make the same pledge. So Zoro was ever vigilant, always quick to save her and make sure she didn't come to harm. Well, to much harm anyway. The girl was never going to get any tougher if he coddled her. Plus the witch just needed it sometimes for her own damn good.

His memories shifted to events far more recent, back to Thriller Bark. He had to admit, he had grown to enjoy their verbal spats and her fearlessness. Nami could actually be terrifying when she wanted to be, and he had to admire her for that. But Zoro still didn't know what had come over him before he had faced off against Kuma again. Like a man possessed, he had gone to Nami, to whisper goodbye. He could still remember how it had felt to lightly kiss her head. And then he had gone to die.

Zoro opened his eyes slowly and blinked up towards the sky. He had been fully prepared to die then, not expecting to survive his fight with Kuma. He had figured his death would sate the warlord and buy the crew enough time to escape. Better to end his dream there then to have everyone's end. That way at least eight dreams would continue on rather than none at all. Zoro sighed, looking back down at his hands. Now that everything was over, he thanked whatever gods existed that his life had not ended. His memory returned back to after he had taken on Luffy's pain.

0~0~0

Fire. He felt like he was on fire. It was duller than when he had first embraced the bubble, but it was still painful. He floated in and out of consciousness, only vaguely aware of what was happening around him. He remembered feeling his body being moved, and Chopper tending to his many wounds. Then voices, all muffled in his barely conscious state. After that, it was mostly Chopper constantly dressing his wounds. The other thing that he was most aware of was that citrus scent that always hung to Nami. She seemed to always be hovering near his bedside, and for whatever reason, that soothed the swordsman. The fiery pain had finally started to fade. He was dimly aware it was night, as the temperature had turned blissfully cool. Then something was touching his hand and there was the familiar scent of mikans.

"You better not die you numbskull," Nami said, more to herself than to him. "What do you think we would do if you died? Huh?" he heard a sniff and she squeezed his hand just a little more. Then, ever so softly that he almost didn't hear it, "what would I do if you had died? Please don't ever do that again..ok?" And Zoro had never felt so guilty.

0~0~0

Zoro stood. He had to do something to get his mind off of everything. He didn't like to remember the pain, and the memories of what had happened during his recovery only fogged his brain more. His eyes fell to the weights he had on deck from the other day. Training seemed like the best course of action.

0~0~0

Nami stretched, popping a few joints in the process. She had finished another map, and now she was ready to soak up some sun. Glancing out the library window, she spotted a familiar green head hopping around. Narrowing her eyes, she went to the doorway to get a better view. Sure enough, Zoro had his massive dumbbell over his shoulders and was hopping around the deck again. Nami grit her teeth and stomped towards the moss-head.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, a scowl on her face. Zoro didn't even look up.

"Training," he grunted. Nami rolled her eyes. "Obviously. I meant what do you think you're doing? Chopper said you should take it easy, not train," she sighed. Zoro didn't respond, simply hopping forward again. A moment passed like this, with him continuing to train and Nami fuming. Finally, she snapped.

"Do you want to reopen your wounds? Do you even realize how close you were to dying?" she hissed at him. At this, Zoro paused, and then slowly put down his weights. He stalked over to Nami, his face serious. The navigator scowled again, not missing the fact that his newest scars were red and angry looking on his shirtless torso. Zoro grabbed a towel that he had left out for himself to mop his face. He shot Nami a glare before plopping down on the deck and reclining against one of the walls.

"I was training so I can get stronger. If I'm stronger, I won't ever get that close to dying again," he grumbled. Nami looked away, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Still..." she managed to say, "it would be dumb if you died because of training." The redhead turned to head towards her quarters, done with the conversation.

"I don't plan on leaving you behind any time soon..." his gruff voice was low, almost to the point where Nami didn't hear it. Acting like she heard nothing, she continued towards her room.

0~0~0

"Done mapping for today?" Robin asked as Nami approached. The navigator had changed into a bikini and had decided to sit next to Robin to sunbathe.

"Yeah, my neck started to cramp up," Nami said as she plopped down in a lawn chair. She began to apply sun lotion as Robin flipped a page in her book.

"I saw you arguing with the swordsman again," Robin brought up. Nami huffed.

"That stupid muscle head..." the redhead grumbled. Robin grinned without looking up from her book.

"You're worried about him," she said. Nami closed her sun lotion bottle and leaned back into the chair.

"I don't need anyone endangering their lives more than necessary," she griped, shoving some sunglasses on her nose. Robin looked up from her book to glance at Nami.

"You seem more worried than normal. You barely left his side while he was unconscious," the archaeologist observed. Nami frowned.

"I do that with everyone though.." she protested. Robin smiled and continued to read.

"If you say so..." she said softly. They say together in comfortable silence for awhile. The only sounds that could be heard was the ocean and the occasional page being turned by Robin. Every now and then another crew member's voice could be heard from somewhere on the ship.

"HANDS OFF! THESE ARE FOR NAMI AND ROBIN!" Sanji's voice roared to life from the kitchen. There was an accompanying thud, and then the chef appeared on deck. He was holding a tray with two bowls and headed in their direction. "Nami-swan! Robin my dear! I have some fruit parfaits for you!" the chef crowed cheerfully. Nami smiled weakly. She took the treat from Sanji silently. She felt mentally exhausted enough already, and didn't have the willpower to verbally deal with him right now. Robin turned her head towards Sanji.

"Why don't you make something for everyone, Mr. Cook?" she suggested.

"Anything for you, Robin my dear!" the blond swooned, twirling away. The archaeologist took a few bites of her treat. "So do you remember what happened after Kuma released his air bomb?" she asked, like it was the most normal thing in the world to ask. Nami scratched her head.

"No, I barely remember anything," the redhead said. "I'm pretty sure all of us were out cold." "Hmmm, odd. I thought something strange happened then but I guess I was wrong," Robin said, casting a sideways glance at Nami. The former thief was subconsciously rubbing her forehead.

"I don't know, the first thing I remember after the blast...was.." Nami paused, seeming to remember something. "...I remember waking up and noticing how quiet it was. And then that Kuma wasn't there," she said, avoiding Robin's gaze. The older woman studied her for a moment, before turning back to her book. Nami turned over so she could tan her back, and so no one could see her face. She had lied about the first thing she remembered. She had heard it rather than seen it. Her first memory from waking up that day was the sound of Zoro's single drawn-out scream.

It was quite jarring, not to mention terrifying. The navigator had panicked, not being able to see Zoro and not being able to move herself. Eventually his yell ended, and Nami thought he had died. She laid there on the ground, silently panicking. Zoro was probably dead. That scream had been full of pain, and it had just stopped. She had felt as if her chest was being stopped on by Oars himself. Everyone else started to wake up, and it wasn't until she heard Sanji yell something about Zoro that she had finally started to calm down. Nami closed her eyes. She had barely left the swordsman's side while he slept. It was the worst she had ever seen him, which was a lot considering how long she had been traveling with the man. Nami turned over again, feeling fidgety. Her hand came to rest over her heart as she stared at the clouds. She felt like a mental, emotional mess and she had no idea how to fix it. And the feelings she had started to develop for the swordsman were starting to worry her.

0~0~0


	2. Dream in the Shape of Your Mouth

0~0~0

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this for you.." Nami grumbled. Zoro grunted, and avoided her gaze. He had aggravated some of his wounds again, and had gone to Nami for help. It was only a few days after the fiasco with the Flying Fish Riders, and Chopper would likely murder the swordsman if he knew he had just reopened his wounds again. So swallowing his pride, Zoro had sought out Nami, knowing she had enough first-aid know-how to patch him up. Nami scowled and pressed a wet cloth to one of his wounds, causing him to hiss.

"Easy with the disinfectant there, witch," he said, glaring at her. Nami ignored him and swabbed the cloth over a few more angry-looking wounds.

"I have to dress it correctly or it could get worse," she said, her voice short and unsympathetic. Zoro grumbled, knowing she had every right to be frustrated at him. He started to stare off into space and doing his best to block out his lingering pain. Nami finished her work with the cloth and grabbed a roll of bandages to re-wrap everything. As her hands glided across his toned body with the bandages, her ears burned just a little at the sensation. She had always acknowledges the fact that Zoro was attractive, but now, as she actually got to feel him, it was almost to much. Nami finished as fast as she could without botching the job. She stood abruptly as she finished, looking at her feet rather than his face.

"Now don't you dare do anything to reopen them again, or I WILL tell Chopper, got it?" she threatened. Zoro didn't doubt her, and nodded slowly. Nami placed her hands on her hips.

"Good. Now promise me that you won't attempt to kill yourself with something as dumb as training," she insisted. The swordsman's eyes reluctantly looked up at her, and he gave a small nod. Nami sighed, knowing it was the best she was going to get out of him. She turned away from him to leave.

"It takes more than training to kill me you know. Have a little faith, witch," she heard him mutter. Nami couldn't help but to smirk at his words. She paused her steps and slightly turned her head towards him.

"You know I do, idiot. I'm still allowed to worry about you," she stated boldly, and then continued to walk away. Her face burned as she slowly fled to the safety of the library. Where did that come from? She never spoke like that to Zoro. Why had she told him she worried about him? He was probably laughing at her even now...Nami wanted to die.

In reality, she had left Zoro blinking in confusion. He watched her leave until she was out of sight, and then absently ran his hand over his fresh bandages. The thing Nami had said about worrying had made him feel odd. He scowled, trying to forget the feeling of her hands wrapping his wounds as he settled in for a nap.

0~0~0

These odd encounters between the swordsman and navigator continued over the next few days. Robin bit back a smile. She had been observing them more closely ever since Brook had told her what he had seen on Thriller Bark. Their frequent arguments had changed their tone slightly. Robin had noticed that these arguments had started to quiet down towards the end, with Zoro and Nami talking quieter, and the topic of the heated exchange actually growing serious. Instead of money troubles, laziness, and name-calling, their arguments were now about safety, strength, and worry.

Robin had deduced that Nami was more in tune with what she was feeling, and that Zoro was still mostly clueless. So that night, as the two women were preparing for bed, Robin made her move. After settling herself into her own bed with a book, she looked up at Nami.

"Something seems off with you and the Swordsman," Robin said evenly, watching the navigator closely. To her credit, Nami only paused slightly, hiding her surprise of the question well.

"What makes you say that? Nothing's changed," Nami replied, slipping into her own bed. Robin looked back at her book and pretended to read.

"I don't think so. Your arguments have changed, and I see you two watching each other," the archaeologist added. Nami stayed silent, staring up at the ceiling. Robin sighed.

"All I'm wondering Nami, is everything all right? You seem conflicted, especially when it comes to Zoro," she said gently.

"I don't know," Nami started, "I start to think I'm feeling something, but then it goes away. We've always had a rocky relationship, even way back before the Grand Line. It was obviously worse then, and we've gotten better, but I've never really considered..." she trailed off, covering her eyes with an arm.

"Okay well, let's analyze how you feel about everyone," Robin said, putting her book away completely. The redhead glanced at the older woman, looking slightly confused.

"What do you mean?"

"How do you feel about Luffy, for instance?" Robin asked. Nami slowly sat up.

"Well, obviously I love him because he's my friend and all he's done for me," she said. Robin shook her head.

"But how do you feel?" she insisted. Nami crinkled her nose in thought.

"Almost like I'm his big sister in way. I would follow him to the end of the world, but I've never really wanted to pursue anything more with the guy, and before you ask, yes, I did consider it at one point. But that's all," Nami explained. Robin nodded, taking this all in.

"Okay, now what about Usopp?"

"Oh ew. Again, I love the guy, but more like a brother. Besides, I think he has a crush on a girl in his home town Syrup Village."

"Chopper?"

"Um, not to sound rude, but he's a reindeer. And he's so young he's practically a child."

"Franky?" Robin continued. Nami seemed to be answering more easily now, as she thought about each member of the crew.

"Franky? Robin, the guy is 10 or so years older than me. He's kinda like the funny uncle to all of us," Nami said, giggling slightly.

"Brook?" Robin asked, smirking despite herself.

"He's nothing but bones! And he's older than Franky! Come on Robin!" Nami was laughing now.

"Okay, then what about Sanji?" Robin asked. Nami quieted down before answering.

"I did consider him a while back, right around when we were first going to the Grand Line, but it didn't last long. He's just so flirtatious and easy to predict.." Nami rambled.

"You don't find pursuing him challenging," Robin guessed. Nami nodded slowly, having an idea of where the conversation was going.

"And Zoro?" Robin finally asked.

"...I don't know," Nami said, "I honestly have no idea."

"But that not knowing for certain, it makes you feel something?" Robin pressed.

"I don't know, Robin, I need to think about it more," Nami said. Robin nodded, and sprouted an arm on the wall to turn off the light.

0~0~0

Nami didn't fall asleep right away. She found herself staring at her wall as she lay on her side. Now that Robin had forced her to think about potential romance with the crew members, she couldn't get the topic out of her mind. Especially about Zoro. The fact that she couldn't immediately come up with how she felt about the first mate left her confused. Nami tried to organize what feelings she knew she had for him. She knew she always felt worried about him whenever he fought, and when he got injured. She also knew that out of all the crew members, Zoro was the one she connected with the most on a mental level, next to Robin. They were extremely similar in their mindsets and ideals, which had led to many drunken conversations and bonding over drunk logic. She also had to reluctantly admit that out of all the males on board, Zoro was by the far the most attractive to her. She would never admit that to anyone else, but it was the truth. It wasn't that she found the others unattractive, both Luffy and Sanji were very good looking men, but Zoro just had that rugged, toned, and bronzed thing going for him that fit Nami's aesthetics way to well. Nami groaned and forced herself to fall asleep, tired of thinking of the moss-headed swordsman.

0~0~0

Nami opened her eyes slightly, becoming alarmed when she recognized the rubble from Thriller Bark. She was lying where she had been after Kuma's blast, and quickly shut her eyes as she winced in pain. She hurt everywhere. But suddenly, she was surrounded by the scent of steel and sweat. The scent of blood was there as well, but she could only focus on the steel and sweat scents as she faded in and out of consciousness. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Nami knew that this was a dream, and that she was just reliving the events from the fight. So it came as a surprise to her when the scent engulfed her briefly and a hoarse voice whispered in her ear.

"I know you can't hear me right now, but I'm sorry. This might be goodbye.." The scent grew stronger, and Nami felt herself almost float up and then feel something warm press against her forehead. She was placed back down gently and then the scent was gone. Nami floated in darkness, only dimly aware of her surroundings. But her calm dreamland was shattered as she heard a scream of pain coming from the direction that the scent had gone...

0~0~0

Nami sat straight up in her bed, breathing heavily and covered in a cold sweat. Somehow, she knew who both the scent and the scream had belonged too. Without a doubt, they had been Zoro's. What exactly had happened to him after Kuma's blast? Nami raised a hand to her forehead. Had Zoro...kissed her? She couldn't remember. Had he actually whispered to her while she was mostly unconscious? Her hand moved to her chest to feel her heart hammering away. The navigator bit her lip. She could no longer deny that she felt something for the first mate, and it wasn't brotherly like with the rest of the crew.

Nami sighed and lay back down. She was going to have to ask Zoro what he remembered from after the blast tomorrow, if she could find the guts to do it. And with that, she fell back into a slightly troubled sleep.


	3. Something Fishy

It was another beautifully clear day, and for once, Zoro wasn't training. He knew that if the training didn't seriously injure him, Nami would, so he wasn't taking chances. The swordsman glanced down at the little ship still tethered to the Sunny. Hachi the fishman was still with them after all, since he was taking them to a place where they could get there ship coated and continue on to Fishman Island. And according to Hachi, the ship coating facility was going to be showing up tomorrow, or even tonight at the earliest.

The sounds of Luffy and Usopp horsing around could be heard coming from Hachi's small ship, probably eating more octopus dumplings. When his own stomach released a small growl, Zoro decided to hop over and see if he could snag a few bites. The fishman was more than willing to give them food, and it beat begging the stupid love-cook for whatever scraps he happened to have. So with a grunt, Zoro launched himself over the Thousand Sunny's railing and onto Hachi's food stand ship.

"Oh, hello Zoro!" Hachi greeted. He was behind the grill with the mermaid, Camie, and her starfishman Pappug. Seated at the bar was Luffy and Usopp, stuffing their faces with the takoyaki once again.

"Do you want some, Mr. Zoro?" Camie asked, holding up a platter loaded with the savory dumplings. Zoro plopped down in an empty seat.

"Sure," he accepted, taking the platter. He was was sure to be careful of Luffy's long reach. The takoyaki was indeed delicious, and soon Luffy and Usopp had gorged themselves. They rolled over with contented sighs as Zoro continued to slowly munch. It was only about midday, so the sun was high in the sky. Luffy and Usopp seemed to have fallen asleep, and it was just over all peaceful on the sea. Zoro picked his teeth with one of the takoyaki skewers. Hachi leaned back behind the bar, looking content as well.

"Your crew has grown so much since the last time, I could hardly believe it," the octopus man said. Zoro shot him a sideways glance.

"I'm surprised you want to bring up your past at all, with Nami running around," the green-headed swordsman said dryly. Hachi shrugged.

"Believe what you want, I guess, but I do feel bad about what happened to her. I was obviously much younger way back then, and much more foolish. I was convinced that Arlong knew what was best, but I never understood why he had to be so mean about it," the fishman huffed, crossing his six arms, "I asked him why we didn't just ask the people nicely if we could stay there, offer them protection for a price. Needless to say his didn't agree," Hachi concluded, rubbing his head.

"Well, just don't expect her forgiveness anytime soon. You might have changed your ways, or never agreed with Arlong's principles, but you were still a part of the crew that killed her mother," Zoro informed him, his voice serious. Hachi remained silent for a moment. Zoro noticed that Pappug and Camie had disappeared, probably to give the two men privacy.

"I was glad when you all fought for Nami and saved her though," Hachi said. Zoro cocked a brow questioningly. "Keep in mind that I practically watched her grow up. During all the years I knew her, she never truly had real friend. And then she showed up with 4 of them, all willing to fight for her."

"Well, you're not wrong, and we would still fight for her, all of us," Zoro agreed. Hachi reached under the bar and pulled out a strange looking bottle.

"Special Fishman Sake. Want a drink?" he asked. Zoro nodded, and the fishman poured two glasses. They clinked their glasses together in a silent toast of respect. Zoro was lightly sipping the drink to test its flavor when Hachi said something else.

"I'm glad to see that you're still together, at the least," the former pirate said, taking a modest sip of his sake. Zoro, on the other hand, choked on his.

"Together?" he wheezed. Hachi stared at him, confused.

"Well, yeah, she stuck her neck out for you more than anyone in Cocoyashi, and from what I've been hearing from Camie, you two act like an old married couple," he said innocently. Zoro couldn't hold back the mighty blush that was spreading on his cheeks.

"We...are..uh...we're not dating," he finally managed lamely. Hachi blinked.

"NYUUUUUUUUU!?" he exclaimed, now just as embarrassed as Zoro. "B-b-b-but she seemed so worried about you when your wounds reopened with the Flying Fish Riders! And I saw you go to her to treat you instead of your doctor, and t-t-t-the way you two look at each other sometimes.."

"The way we look at each other?!" Zoro's blush had spread to his ears by now, and he cast worried glances around to make sure no one else heard. Luckily, the captain and sniper were still dead to the world and no one seemed to be on deck at the moment. Hachi took a larger sip of the sake to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry I misread, but it seemed like you two were involved," he said, trying to explain himself. He glanced back at Zoro, who was silent and now beet-red. The fishman tilted his head in a perplexed manner.

"But your reaction is still puzzling...are you keeping a relationship secret?"

"Wha-NO! Hachi, it ain't like that at all!" Zoro grumbled, looking at the ground. The fishman refilled Zoro's cup and waited for his explanation. The swordsman drained the cup before continuing.

"Look, Nami and I have always had an odd friendship. We've been with Luffy the longest, so there's that. We were also older than him, and neither one of us really trusted the other at first, or even really liked each other. But as time went on we started to respect each other," Zoro started, idly playing with one of the dumpling skewers again, "and by the time we reached Cocoyashi to look for her, I at least trusted her enough by then to consider her my crewmate, even if she had never declared herself as such." Hachi nodded, and refilled both of their cups.

"You saw what happened when I was in front of Arlong, right?" Zoro asked, bringing the sake to his lips again. Hachi nodded.

"When you dove into the bay?" he asked to confirm.

"Yup. And the little witch dove right in after me. I had to call her bluff, I had to know right then, if she considered us friends. And if she dove after me, the one she got along with the least, in front of Arlong, I would know she with us. And she did." Zoro emptied the sake cup again, his eyes distant as he remembered Nami's shape coming through the water to save him. "I never admired her as much as I did in that moment. The girl had backbone, was loyal to a fault, and I found it impressive," the first mate finished, leaning forward on the counter. Now that he thought about it, it was also the first time he had ever thought Nami truly beautiful, but he wasn't about to tell that to Hachi of all people. The fishman sipped his own sake thoughtfully.

"And now?" he asked.

"And now what?" Zoro repeated, confused.

"And what has happened to you and Nami now?" the fishman said, explaining his inquiry. Zoro pinched his temples with his hand, covering his eyes.

"I-I don't really know anymore.." he groaned, his mind involuntarily flashing to the events after Kuma's blast. "I honestly have no idea..."

0~0~0

Nami walked out onto the deck. She had been hiding in her room and in the library all day, slowly building up the courage to go confront Zoro. The navigator kept finding reasons to put it off, like drawing up more charts or pruning her mikans. Finally, sometime after she had lunch with Robin in the galley, Nami decided to just do it. And now she was looking for the swordsman.

The scent of takoyaki was in the air, and Luffy at least was sure to be with Hachi, stuffing his face. She didn't know if Zoro would be there though, but it was still worth a check. Nami approached the small vessel slowly. Hachi was harmless, she knew that, but seeing him still brought back painful memories from her childhood. Putting that aside, Nami made it all the way over. She wasn't surprised to see Luffy and Usopp passed out and stuffed, but only a little surprised that Zoro was there as well. Camie was nowhere to be found, which seemed odd, and Hachi and Zoro both looked embarrassed for some reason. Hachi spotted her first, and his eyes widened as he seemed to grow even more flustered. Confused and temporarily distracted from her task at hand, Nami cocked her head to the side.

"Zoro? Hachi?" she left the question simple, as she really had no idea what was going on here. The swordsman seemed to jump out of skin when he heard her, and he slowly turned his head to look in her direction.

"Oh, hey Nami," he said weakly. Nami blinked. He was acting strangely, just like Hachi.

"I was looking for you, I wanted to ask you something, but if you're busy, it can wait," she said, almost hoping she could wait longer. Hachi, on the other hand, quickly corked a strange looking bottle and stashed it away and started to busy himself with cleaning the grill.

"Oh, we aren't busy, not anymore, are we Zoro? We just shared a drink and had a bit of a chat?" he said quickly, all of his arms doing a different task.

"A bit of a chat?" Nami echoed, not quite sure what to make of it. Zoro stood suddenly.

"No, it's fine Nami, we actually had just finished talking," he told her, climbing back on deck to stand next to her. He waved farewell to Hachi and then focused his attention on her.

"So, what's up?" he asked her. Nami motioned for him to follow her, and then lead him to her mikan grove. Nobody would dare disturb them here.

"Zoro, what happened after Kuma did that big blast?" she asked immediately.. Zoro seemed taken aback by the question.

"Um, why?" he dodged.

"I'm just trying to piece everything together, I can remember bits, but not all," she tried to explain. This seemed acceptable to Zoro, and he leaned back against a mikan trunk.

"Well, I remember the blast knocking us all down. I woke up, but everybody was out cold. Kuma was going for Luffy, but I went after him. That's how I got so injured," he told her.

"But it doesn't add up," Nami pressed, "how did you receive so many internal injuries, and why did Kuma just leave? Why didn't he kill you and take Luffy anyway?"

"I don't really care at this point, I'm just glad we're all alive and still together," he said quietly. He turned an eye towards her. "Did that help you piece together what happened?" Nami clenched her fists, looking down at her feet. Zoro shrugged and moved like her was going to leave, but Nami reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Wait," she croaked, her voice suddenly hoarse, "I've actually started having flashes of memory, and they don't make sense to me, so I wanted to confirm something with you." The first mate immediately tensed, but didn't move. Nami licked her lips, building up the gall to get the question out.

"After the blast, did you come near me? I remember sensing you near me," she stepped a little bit closer to him. Zoro swallowed, but didn't look away.

"I think I might have been near you at one point before I charged Kuma," he managed to say. Nami stepped closer still, trying to trap him against the mikan tree so he couldn't just leave when she asked the question.

"Zoro, did you kiss me for some reason?" she asked, her face serious. Zoro didn't answer. His face seemed strained, like he was having an internal debate with himself. Nami held eye contact with him, trying to determine his answer from his eyes. Several moments passed like this, with them staring each other down in silence. It felt like hours to Nami. Finally, Zoro closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

"Yes, Nami, I-"

"GUYS WE CAN SEE LAND!" Luffy's voice suddenly rang out. Zoro and Nami almost fell over from surprise, and quickly stepped farther apart. Knowing that the crew would gathering on deck, Nami touched Zoro's arm.

"We're continuing this conversation later tonight. I'll meet you in the crow's nest," she told him. Zoro studied her for a moment, and then nodded. They walked in opposite directions so they would appear on the main deck at different times. Nami's head was reeling. He had said yes. So yes, he had kissed her, it hadn't been a strange dream. But what was he going to say after that part? Luffy had cut him off. She was dying to know, but she would just have to wait for nightfall.

0~0~0


	4. 2 Years with Elders

Nami wasn't sure what she had been expecting when Hachi said they weren't going to an actual island. Sabaody Archipelago was not it. It defied everything the navigator knew about nature, and yet here it was.

She glanced back at the swordsman. He wasn't paying attention to her at the moment, and he hadn't since the Archipelago had been spotted and their conversation cut off. Nami grit her teeth. It seemed that he was going to force her to wait till nightfall. Well fine then, he would pay for it then. Nami was going to use all of this extra time she now had to go shopping with Robin, and maybe get a new outfit to use against the moss-head.

She still couldn't believe that he had admitted to kissing her. It had only been her forehead, but still. The implication of that kiss hung heavy on Nami's mind. That Zoro would come to her before he raced towards almost certain death...Nami shook her head, overwhelmed by the complicated feelings that welled up in her chest. She motioned to Robin and the two women made their leave of the Thousand Sunny. Nami needed the shopping to distract her mind until nightfall.

0~0~0

The main reason why Zoro had wanted to wander off was to brood. He had planned on shoving anything weird he felt for the navigator deep down within himself and forget about it, but it seemed the witch had other plans. Apparently she had been at least semi-conscious when Zoro had cradled her on Thriller Bark. Zoro kicked himself for that one, even though he knew that she might be. And now, he had to meet the woman up in the crow's nest to settle the damn thing.

Thankfully, it was now about midday as Zoro had been wandering the Archipelago for a few hours now. A few bounty hunters had run into him and given him something to do to take his mind off Nami. Now he was trying to make it back to the ship before nightfall, but he was having trouble getting solid directions back to grove 1...

0~0~0

"RUUUUUN!" Nami screeched, watching as Kuma closed in on Zoro. The swordsman's extensive injures looked as if they had all reopened, and he had probably gained a few new wounds as well. As a result, Zoro was laying prone on the ground, not able to walk. Nami knew he had to be in huge amounts of pain if he couldn't walk. She had seen the man sport serious injures before and shrug it off like nothing before. Back in Alabasta he had even carried her when his wounds had been far more extensive than his.

Kuma's hand swung down towards the first mate. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Nami watched, helpless. Kuma's hand grew closer still, and Nami felt rather than heard a hoarse scream escape her lips. Zoro's face lifted just a tad and his steely eyes zeroed in on hers. Hot tears started to pool in her eyes as she saw his lips form words she couldn't hear

Nami, I'm sorry- whatever else he had planned on mouthing was cut short as he simply disappeared with a soft *pop* as Kuma's hand reached him. The tears began to fall as Nami stood there, speechless. Her hands flew to her mouth to hold back the sobs. He was just gone. She had no idea if he was dead or alive, or if he even existed anymore.

And it didn't end there. Kuma started to come after everyone, and one by one, her crew mates vanished as she watched. She could hear Luffy yelling, so she starting running.

Is there nothing we can do? Are we really this weak? But Nami couldn't dwell on her thoughts. Kuma loomed behind her. She tried to run even faster, but it was of no use. Luffy screaming was the last thing she remembered hearing before she blacked out.

0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

Zoro sat down harshly, a scowl on his face. Hawkeye chuckled and simply poured himself a glass of wine.

"You actually did very well today, Zoro," the warlord said, bringing the drink to his lips. Zoro's scowl lessened a little, but not much. From the other corner of the table, Perona sat and watched them, since there was little else to do.

"Although you did seem more distracted today," the elder swordsman continued, taking a small sip of the wine. Zoro grumbled and avoided his gaze. When Hawkeye didn't look away, Zoro sighed.

"I've just been thinking, or rather remembered, I was supposed to have an important conversation with someone the night we all got blasted away," he admitted, "and now I'm going to have to wait another whole year before we have that conversation."

"Was this person by chance..a woman?" Mihawk asked. Zoro shot the man a sideways glance.

"How did you know?" he asked. The warlord chuckled.

"I've been around the world a few times Zoro. I know a thing or two when it comes to women." Both swordsmen turned at the sound of Perona falling out of her chair.

"You mean to say..." she gasped, "that the green dummy has a GIRLFRIEND?" Mihawk actually threw back his head and laughed at this while Zoro turned a light shade of pink.

"I don't have no girlfriend, Perona," he grumbled, "but things..were getting complicated between us."

"Bah, complicated. It sounds more like stubborn swordsman pride," Hawkeye laughed, taking a bigger drink of his wine. Zoro looked at his new master curiously. He never acted like this. The warlord took another drink and then fixed his sharp golden eyes on the moss-head.

"If you're going to learn things from me, then learn this. Don't let your pride and stubbornness keep you from side dreams. Sometimes the side dreams become essential to achieving your main dream, and the two merge," he said cryptically. Zoro blinked.

"What?"

"Don't be afraid to love a woman, you dolt. The results might surprise you," Mihawk sighed. The younger swordsman regarded the warlord for a moment.

*Now there's a long story* he mused about Hawkeye. The man finished his wine and then proceeded to ignore him. Zoro pondered his words as Perona tittered about the room, still in shock about what she had learned.

0~0~0

Nami flipped through a romance novel. It all seemed all to easy in the books, even when the lovers faced conflict. Authors obviously had never considered the impossible odds the navigator faced for her own love life.

Tossing the book away Nami stood and stretched. Her studies were growing increasingly interesting on Weatheria. Her experiments never ceased to amaze, and alarm, the elderly weather wizards.

"You've been reading a lot of romance stories lately," observed Haredas. Nami rolled her eyes and ignored the man, walking to where she had left the new climatact she had been working on.

"You can't research love, you know," Haredas continued, glancing at the discarded love romance novel. Nami paused at this.

"What do you mean?" she finally asked. Haredas grinned at her.

"Love is like weather, it's never the same way twice. But also like weather, you shouldn't be afraid of it."

"But you can research weather to understand it," Nami countered.

"Yes, but do we ever really understand love?" Haredas asked sagely. Nami remained silent. The elderly scientist chuckled.

"And whoever this Zoro is, he's going to be a lucky man one day."

"Wha..how?" Nami spluttered, her cheeks flushed.

"You talk in your sleep on occasion," Haredas winked, before continuing on toward wherever he had been headed before. Nami was left alone to work on her weapon and to dwell on her feelings for a certain swordsman.

0~0~0


	5. Together Again

Nami sighed into her drink. She knew Zoro had arrived on the Archipelago based on what Shaki had told her, but she had a feeling she wasn't going to see the swordsman until the whole crew met up. She had, however, seen that fake Straw Hat crew's Zoro impersonator. That had given her a good laugh. How anyone was fooled by him was anyone's guess.

She hadn't forgotten his promise to meet in the crow's nest. The navigator was planning on going up there the first night back on the Sunny. For now though, she was going to amuse herself with scamming the pants off whoever was unfortunate enough to be playing cards in the bar.

0~0~0

Their first run in with each other was uneventful. Besides the fact that everything else going on was very eventful. All the excitement greatly downsized their interaction when they did finally see one another. Zoro had stared at her a moment longer than necessary, which she of course had noticed. But Nami was now way too occupied with yelling around the Sunny like nothing had changed.

Zoro followed her commands, doing his part to help get the ship out and under the sea. The swordsman took some comfort in the fact that the fiery redhead seemed to have changed little in the two years they had been separated.

0~0~0

This was infuriating. Nami fumed silently to herself. She hadn't had a single moment to relax since setting foot back on the Thousand Sunny. Since getting the coated ship underwater, she had constantly been making sure they stayed on course. And then there had been the issue of their stowaway. And then there had been the Kraken. And then there had been the Flying Dutchman. And now, she fumed, and now there were fishman pirates trying to bully them. Nami had to admit though, all of the excitement with the idiots on the crew was very refreshing after spending two years with cranky old weather men.

So it was of little surprise that the navigator soon found herself clinging for dear life as the Sunny was launched towards Fishman Island.

0~0~0

It was finally over. Zoro wasn't surprised in the slightest that they had gotten so incredibly tangled up in the Island's affairs. That just tended to happen when you had someone like Luffy as your captain. And now, the whole crew, and the fishman and merfolk they had befriended, we're having a huge party in the palace. The crew was treating it like the celebration of all being together again, since they hadn't been able to do so sooner. Sanji was putting out all sorts of food. Brook was playing his most outrageous music to date. Chopper, Usopp, Franky, and Luffy were doing their traditional chopstick dance and goofing around. Robin was having a conversation with the king, and Nami...where was Nami?

Zoro looked around the crowd of partying people but couldn't spot her. She had just been there, he had seen her having a drinking contest with some of the guards. The swordsman looked back the group. The party was still in full swing, more rowdy than ever. No one was going to notice if he ran off to look for her.

0~0~0

Nami sipped at her drink. She had wandered away from the party, simply enjoying the beauty of the palace. It was hard to believe that she was so far below the surface at times. The navigator was currently standing on an outside balcony, overlooking some outdoor gardens. To her surprise, she saw a familiar green head walking among the strange aquatic plants. He seemed to be lost. Rolling her eyes, Nami made her way down from the balcony, simply climbing down the outside. If she took the time to go inside and use some stairs and find the exit to the garden, who knows where the moss-head would wander to. Her feet hit the ground with a soft thump, and she quickly walked towards the garden.

Zoro was scowling at some coral, as if he were blaming it for being lost. Nami crept up as quietly as she could. The swordsman noticed her anyway, and turned his head slightly towards her.

"Where did you run off to?" he asked. The redhead put a hand on her hip.

"You're the one wandering around outside. I saw you from a balcony," she retorted. Zoro huffed and turned back towards the coral. They stood in silence for a moment.

"So where did you end up?" Nami asked, hungry for conversation. She spotted a bench and went over to it. Zoro sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I landed on the place that ghost girl did from Thriller Bark. It turns out it was Hawkeye Mihawk's lair," he said. Nami's eyes widened.

"Hawkeye the Warlord?" she asked to clarify. He nodded.

"I convinced him to train me for two years. After that, Perona helped me get to the Archipelago," Zoro added, sitting on the bench next to her. He was on the far side of the bench, but Nami was still acutely aware of every move he made.

"How about you? Where were you sent?"

"A sky island called Weatheria. They study the weather in advanced ways," she said.

"There are other sky islands?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I learned a lot of new ways to control weather though and now I know what to expect when we get to the new world," she told him. He nodded, and they fell into another awkward silence. Nami greet her teeth. This was getting nowhere fast.

"Well, this isn't the crow's nest, and it's two years late, but what did you want to talk about?" she finally asked. Zoro turned his gaze towards her and seemed to study her with his one good eye. Nami shifted under his gaze. She couldn't read his expression. She was also remembering that he had admitted to kissing her, but he hadn't been able to finish his sentence at the time.

"I did kiss you on the forehead, I admit it," he said, breaking the silence. "And at the time, I didn't really know why. I just felt like I needed to for some reason," he continued. Nami felt her breath hitch as he scooted closer to where she was on the bench. His eye was drilling into hers now.

"After two years to think about it, I know why I did that," he murmured softly. He was so close Nami almost couldn't think straight.

"And why is that?" she managed to get out.

"You know why," he practically whispered, his forehead lightly touching hers. Nami wasn't sure who moved first, but their lips were now touching in a light kiss. Her pulse sped up as her mind reeled. The kiss was feather light, and if it weren't for the fact that her eyes were open and could see Zoro's face in hers. He started to pull away, since the kiss wasn't really going anywhere.

Nami surprised herself by grabbing his robe and pulling him back into her, smashing their lips together with far more force than before. Zoro was stunned for about 3 seconds before he responded. Threading his arms behind her, he clung to her and tried to pull her closer still. They finally broke apart, mainly so they could get air. Nami could feel the flush on her cheeks.

"I thought you had died at first, when Kuma poofed you away like that..." she gasped, running her hands idly on his chest.

"I could hear you screaming above the others..." he murmured, looking into her eyes again. "I don't want to ever hear you scream like that again..." he added, physically shuddering at the memory. Nami rested her head on his chest, simply enjoying being in his presence. They say in comfortable silence for a bit.

"So now what?" Nami finally asked.

"Who knows. I hadn't exactly planned this," Zoro retorted dryly.

"If we pursue this.." she started.

"No one can know. It would over complicate everything," he finished for her. Nami sighed.

"Regardless, lets just take this slow for now...this is gonna take some getting used to.." she said.

"Yeah.."

"We should probably go back to the party before we're missed," she added, glancing back towards the palace. He nodded, and abruptly stood. He helped her up, and then they started to go back towards the others.


End file.
